CA2445331C

CA2445331C - Exopolysaccharide production

Info

Publication number: CA2445331C
Application number: CA2445331A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Werner Lubitz; Ewald B. M. Denner
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-04-24
Filing date: 2002-04-23
Publication date: 2011-04-12
Anticipated expiration: 2022-04-23
Also published as: US20040197877A1; AU2002312846B2; US7332323B2; WO2002086099A3; DE10120061A1; EP1381689A2; WO2002086099A2; DE50212676D1; NZ529575A; EP1381689B1; ATE405668T1; CA2445331A1

Abstract

The present invention concerns a new epoxypolysaccharide-producing bacterium, the exopolysaccharide isolated from this bacterium and the use of the exopolysaccharide.

Description

Exopolysaccharide production Description The present invention concerns a new exopolysaccharide-producing bacterium, the exopolysaccharide (referred to as PS-EDM isolated from this bacterium and the use of the exopolysaccharide.

The genus Sphingomonas is a taxon that has been continually expanding since its description by Yabuuchi et al. (1990) (Takeuchi et al., 1993, 1995; Nohynek et al., 1996; Zipper et al., 1996; Balkwill et al., 1997; Kampfer et al., 1997; Denver et al., 1999). There is much interest in sphingomonads since they have a wide range of catabolic abilities and thus have great potential for biotechnological applications. For example sphingomouads can be used to degrade xenobiotic compounds in waste water treatment, as bacterial antagonists for phytopathogenic fungi and they can also be used to produce industrially utilizable exopolysaccharides (Pollock, 1993).

Hence the object of the present invention was to provide a new microorganism of the genus Sphingomonas that can be used for biotechnological applications or/and to produce industrially utilizable products.

This object is achieved according to the invention by a new exopolysaecharide-producing bacterium which is referred to herein as EDIVT or as Sphingomonas pituitosa sp. nov. and has been deposited at the DSMZ "Deutsche Sarnmlung von Mikroorganismen and Zellkulturen GmbH", Mascheroder Weg 1b, 38124 Braunschweig under the accession number DSM 13101 or DSM 14559 and at the Collection de 1'Tnstitut Pasteur-CIP, B.P. 52, 25, rue de Dr. Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex, France under the accession number CI? 106154T. The new bacterial strain according to the invention is able to produce a highly viscous extracellular polysaccharide in a mineral medium containing sucrose.

The microorganism according to the invention can for example be stored at --74 C in tryptic soy broth (Oxoid) which contains 15 % glycerol. The strain EDIVT
according to the invention is a gram-negative, oxidase-negative and catalase-positive, aerobic, non-spore-forming, motile rod-shaped bacterium having a respiratory metabolism. It produces a yellow intracellular pigment (earotenoids) which is not fluorescent and cannot diffuse out of the organism. Colonies of the microorganism are yellow, circular, lowly convex and smooth. The oxidase reaction is negative and the catalase reaction is positive. Positive reactions were obtained for the J3-galactosidase test.
Negative reactions were obtained for nitrate reduction, the urease test, production of indol and for arginine dihydrolase, gelatin liquefaction, H2S production and citrate utilization, The following compounds are assimilated by the new organism: N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, L-arabixiose, p-arbutin, D-cellobiose, D-galactose, D-glucose, D-mannose, D-maltose, a-D-melibiose, sucrose, salicin, D-trehalose, D-xylose, acetate, fumarate, DL-3-hydroxybutyrate, L-melate, pyruvate, L-alanine and L-proline.

The following compounds are not assimilated by the organism according to the invention: D-fructose, gluconate, L-rhamnose, D-ribose, adonitol, i-inosital, maltitol, D-mannitol, D-sorbitol, putrescine, propionate, cis-aconitate, trans-aconitate, adipate, 4-aminobutyrate, azelate, citrate, glutarate, itaeonate, DL-lactate, mesaconate, oxoglutarate, suberate, b-alanine, L-aspartate, L-histidine, L-leucine, L-ornithioe, L-phenylalanine, L-serine, L-tryptopharn, 3-hydroxybenzoate, 4-hydroxybenzoate and phcnylacetate_ The following compounds are hydrolysed by the microorganism according to the invention: esculin, pNP-J3-galactopyranoside, pNP-b-glucuronide, pNP-a-gluco-pyranoside, pNP-J3-xylopyranoside, bis-pNP phosphate, pNP-phenylphosphate,.
pNP-phosphoryleholine, 2-deoxythymidine-5'-pNP-phosphate, L-alanine-pNP and L -gl utamate-'y-3 -c arboxy-pNA.

L-proline-pNA is not hydrolysed by the organism.

Ubiquinone Q- 10 was found to be the main respiratory isoprenoid-quinone system of the new organism. Analysis of the polyamine content showed that sym-homosperrnidine (68.4 }imo1 g', dry weight) was the main compound and sperruidine (3.3 rnol g-1, dry weight) and spermine (1.0 mol g'', dry weight) were minor components.

The main components of the polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolaxnine, phosphatidyldietlhanolamine, phosphatidyldimethylethanolamine, phosphatidyl-glycerol, diphospliatidylglycerol and sphingoglycolipid.

The composition of the cellular fatty acids of the microorganism EDfVT is as follows: cis 18:1 (58.6 %), 16.0 (20.9%) and 2-OH 14:0 (10.0 %) as the main components of the fatty acids as well as smaller amounts of cis 16:1 and cis 17:0 c. It was also found that the G + C content of the DNA of the organism according to the invention is 64.5 mol % which is a value that is within the range found for members of the genus Sphingomonas (Yabuuchi et al., 1990), Another subject matter of the present invention is the ribosomal rDNA of the strain EDIV `. The 16S rDNA sequence of the strain EDIVT was determined and is shown in SEQ ID NO: 1. A high degree of sequence similarity was observed between EDIVT
and Sphinomonas trueperi (DSM 7225) with a similarity of 99.4 %.

An analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that the strain EDIVT can be classified within the a-4 subclass of proteobacteria_ Hence the invention also concerns the ribosomal DNA of the microorganism Sphingomonas pituitosa sp. nov, comprising (a) the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:1, (b) a sequence corresponding to the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:1 within the scope of the degeneracy of the genetic code or (c) a sequence which hybridizes with the sequences of (a) or/and (b) under stringent conditions.

The invention also encompasses sequences which hybridize under stringent conditions with the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:I or with a sequence corresponding to this sequence within the scope of the degeneracy of the genetic code.
The term "hybridization under stringent conditions" is used herein as in Sambrook et al. (Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (1989), 1.101-1.104). A stringent hybridization according to the invention is preferably present when a positive hybridization signal is observed after washing for 1 hour with 1 x SSC and 0.1 % SDS at 50 C, preferably at 55 C, more preferably at 62 C and most preferably at 68 C and more preferably for 1 hour with 0.2 x SSC
and 0.1 % SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) at 50 C, preferably at 55 C, more preferably at 62 C and most preferably at 68 C.

If the microorganism according to the invention is cultured on a medium which contains sucrose and in particular sucrose as the main carbon and energy source, large amounts of extracellular polysaccharide are formed. This polysaccharide is obtained especially in the form of an extracellular slime. Liquid cultures and colonies on agar media were highly viscous. Hence the invention also concerns a polysaccharide that can be produced by using the new exopolysaccharide-producing bacterium.

An analysis of the polysaccharide showed that it contains rhamnose and glucose units.
The polysaccharide or exopolysaccharide according to the invention can of course also be produced synthetically.

Furthermore the polysaccharide according to the invention has a molecular weight of >2500 kDa, more preferably of at least 2900 kDa and up to 3500 kDa, in particular up to 3100 kDa. The molecular weight is particularly preferably about 3000 kDa.
The polysaccharide according to the invention has numerous advantageous properties which make it interesting for many applications. Hence it is pseudoplastic and thixotropic, it is resistant to boiling for 30 minutes and is extremely stable at temperatures between 25 and 99 C and within wide pI-I ranges for example from pII
I to pH 12.3. Furthermore it can be completely degraded after autoclave treatment. It is preferably produced by using ED1'VT cells that are growing logarithmically and these cells are preferably cultured for 48 hours at 28 C. In order to obtain a'high viscosity,, the culture is preferably grown at a high rate of perturbation or/and a high oxygen concentration.

The polysaccharide according to the invention can be classified as a sphingan and is particularly suitable for applications in food technology e.g. as a gelatinizing agent or/and in pharmaceutical technology e.g. to formulate or encapsulate drugs. In particular a delayed release of the active substance can be obtained by coating or encapsulating active substances with the polysaccharide according to the invention.
The polysaccliaridc according to the invention can also be used advantageously in the chemical industry or/and in medicine. Numerous potential applications for example include its use as an adjuvant for tissue engineering, as a wound gel or as an excipient for drugs. It is also very suitable as a medium for paints and lacquers, as a carrier for adhesives or as a biopolymer for degradable plastics. Furthermore the polysaccharide according to the invention can also be used as a component of foods and especially for functional foods or novel food products.

Figure 1. shows SEQ ID NO:1 which is the sequence of the 16S ribosomal RNA of Sphingomonas pituitosa sp. nov.

The invention is fu ther elucidated by the following examples.
Example 1 Production,. yield and characterization of the exopolysaccharide (PS-EDIV) growth conditions and growth medium.

For the growth and exopolysaccharide investigations cells of EDIVT were cultured in a mineral salt medium which contained sucrose at a concentration of 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20 or 22 % (weight/vol) or glucose at a concentration of 12 or 15 %
(weigbt/vol).

100 ml of the following medium was inoculated with 100 p1 of a cell suspension (in 0.85 % NaCl solution) and incubated at 28 C for up to 8 days in a water bath shaker.
The rotation rate was adjusted to a higher level (500 to 800 rpm) when the medium became too viscous due to exopolysaccharide generation. Medium: pH 7.3 (dt 0.2), 1 g/l dipotassiuin hydrogen phosphate, 0.5 g/l KCI, 0.01 g/l Fe(III)SO4, 0.5 g!1 MgSO4 7 H2O, 3 g/l NaNO3, sucrose according to the desired concentrations stated above or glucose according to the desired concentrations stated above. In order to further extract EPS, sucrose was for example added at a concentration of 15 %
(weight/vol).
EDIVT were incubated at 28 C.

A modified S medium as previously described (Fialbo et al., 1991) without K2SO4.
was also used to estimate the yield of EPS production after an incubation at 28 C for 144 hours Extraction, deacetylation and hydrolysis of the exopolysaccharide The exopolysaccharide was precipitated with a three-fold volume of 1-propanol as described by Azeredo and Olivera (1996). The highly viscous bacterial nutrient solution was firstly diluted (1:10) and centrifuged for 30 minutes at 9000 rpm, washed 3 times with propanol and lyophilized. The deacylation was carried out as described by Kang et al., (1982). The deacylated exopolysaccharide (EPS) was precipitated with a double volume of 1-propanol and dried by lyophihlization.
In order to analyse the composition, the native as well as the deacylated PS-EDIV was hydrolysed with trifluoroacetic acid as described by Hashimoto and Murata, 1998.
The trifluoroacetic acid was completely evaporated under a vacuum at room temperature. The remaining hydrolysed PS-EDIV was taken up in HPLC water (Merck). The PS-EDIV samples can be stored frozen at -20 C.

The monosaccharides of the hydrolysed PS-EDIV were separated by thin layer chromatography on silica gel plates (silica gel F 2u, Merck) using acetone/butanol/
water (40:5:5, vol/vol) and butanol/acetic acid/water (4:6:1, vol/vol) as solvent systems. 1 to 2 l of the PS-EDIV hydrolysate was applied to the thin layer plate-Typical components for sphingans such as glucose, glucuronic acid, rhamnose and mannose were used as references. The components were detected by heating the thin layer plates for 5 minutes at 110 C after spraying with 10 % (vol/vol) sulphuric acid in ethanol (Hashimoto and Murata, 1998) or c-naphthol.

In addition, hydrolysates of PS-EDIV and the reference substances (glucose, rhamnose, mannose and glucuronic acid) were separated by HPLC using an Aminex HPX98-H column and 0.05 N H2SO4 as an eluant at an operating temperature of 60 C
and a flow rate of 0.5 ml/mm.

It was found that the polysaccharide isolated from the strain EDTVT contains rhamnose and glucose.

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(1989), Int.
J. Syst. Bacteriol 39: 35-49 Hamana, K. & Matsuzaki, S. (1991), Can. J. Microbiol. 39: 304-3 10 Hashimoto, W. & Murato, K. (1998), Biosei. Biotechnol. Biochern. 62: 1068-1074 Jenkins, C.L., Andrews, A.G., McQuade, T.J. & Starr, M.P. (1979), Curr.
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Sutherland, I.W. (1982), Adv. Microb. Physiol. 33: 79-150 Sutherland, I.W. (1990), Carb. Stud.Biotechnol. 9: 1-151 Takeuchi, M., Kawai, F., Sbimada, Y., & Yokota, A. (1993), Syst. Appl.
Microbiol_ 16: 227-238 Takeuchi, M., Saksane, T., Yanagi, M., Yamasato, K., Hamana, K. & Yokota, A.
(1995), b}t_ J. Syst. Bacteriol. 45: 334-341 Takeuchi, M., Sawada, H., Oyaizu, H. & Yokota, A. (1994), Int. S. Syst.
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44: 308-314 Tindall, 13 J. (1990), FEMS Microbiol. Lett 66: 199-202 Woese, C.R., Blanz, F. & Hahn, C. M. (1984), Syst. Appl. Microbiol. 5: 179-195 Woese, C.R. (1987), Microbiol_ Rev 51: 221-271 Yabuuchi, E., Yano, I., Oyaizu, H., Hashimoto, Y., Ezaki, T. & Yamamoto, 14.
(1990), Microbiol. Jlnimunol. 34: 99-119 Zipper, C., Nickel, IK., Angst, W. & Kohler, H.-P. (1996), Appl. Environm.
Microbiol. 62: 4318-43"22 - 12a-SEQUENCE LISTING
<110> Lubitz, Werner <120> Exopolysaccharide production <130> 4659-488CA

<150> PCT/EP02/04464 <151> 2002-04-23 <150> 10120061.7 <151> 2001-04-24 <160> 1 <170> Patentln Ver. 2.1 <210> 1 <211> 1446 <212> DNA

<213> Sphingomonas pituitosa <400> 1 aacgaacgct ggcggcatgc ctaacacatg caagtcgaac gagatccttc ggggtctagt 60 ggcgcacggg tgcgtaacgc gtgggaatct gccttggggt tcggaataac tccccgaaag 120 gggtgctaat accggatgat gtcgaaagac caaagattta tcgccctgag atgagcccgc 180 gtaggattag ctagttggtg tggtaaaggc gcaccaaggc gacgatcctt agctggtctg 240 agaggatgat cagccacact gggactgaga cacggcccag actcctacgg gaggcagcag 300 - 12b -tggggaatat tggacaatgg gcgaaagcct gatccagcaa tgccgcgtga gtgatgaagg 360 ccttagggtt gtaaagctCt tttacccggg aagataatga ctgtaccggg agaataagcc 420 ccggctaact ccgtgccagC agccgcggta atacggaggg ggctagcgtt gttcggaatt 480 actgggcgta aagcgcacgt aggcggcttt gtaagtcaga ggtgaaagcc tggagctcaa 540 ctccagaact gcctttgaga ctgcatggct tgaatccagg agaggtgagt ggaattccga 600 gtgtagaggt gaaattcgga gatattcgga agaacaccag tggcgaaggc ggctcactgg 660 actggtattg acgctgaggt gcaaaagcgt ggggagcaaa caggattaga taccctggta 720 gtccacgccg taaacgatga taactagctg tccgggcact tggtgcttgg gtggcgcagc 780 taacgcatta agttatccgc ctggggagta cggccgcaag gttaaaactc aaaggaattg 840 acgggggcct gcacaagcgg tggagcatgt ggtttaattc gaagcaacgc gcagaacctt 900 accagcgttt gacatggtag gacgacttcc agagatggat ttcttccctt cggggaccta 960 cacacaggtg ctgcatggct gtcgtcagct cgtgtcgtga gatgttgggt taagtcccgc 1020 aacgagcgca accctcgact ttagttacca tcattaagtt gggtacttta aagtaaccgc 1080 cggtgataag ccggaggaag gtggggatga cgtcaagtcc tcatggccct tacgcgctgg 1140 gctacacacg tgctacaatg gcaagtacag tgggcagcaa tcccgcgagg gtgagctaat 1200 ctccaaaact tgtctcagtt cggattgttc tctgcaactc gagagcatga aggcggaatc 1260 gctagtaatc gcggatcagc atgccgcggt gaatacgttc ccaggccttg tacacaccgc 1320 ccgtcacacc atgggagttg ggttcacccg aaggcgttgc gctaactcag caatgagagg 1380 caggcgacca cggtgggctt agcgactggg gtgaagtcgt aacaaggtag ccgtagggga 1440 acctgc 1446

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. Isolated microorganism Sphingomonas pituitosa sp. nov. DSM 14559.

2. Use of the microorganism of claim 1 to produce a polysaccharide which is a sphingan and contains at least rhamnose and glucose units, has a molecular weight of at least 2900 kDa and up to 3100 kDa, is pseudoplastic and thixotropic, is resistant to boiling for 30 minutes and is extremely stable at temperatures between 25 and 99 °C and from pH 1 to pH 12.3.

3. Polysaccharide obtained by culturing the microorganism of claim 1, characterized in that, it is a sphingan and contains at least rhamnose and glucose units, has a molecular weight of at least 2900 kDa and up to 3100 kDa, is pseudoplastic and thixotropic, is resistant to boiling for 30 minutes and is extremely stable at temperatures between 25 and 99 °C and from pH 1 to pH 12.3.

4. Use of the polysaccharide of claim 3 in food technology, in the chemical industry or for the production of an agent in medicine or pharmaceutical technology.

5. The use of claim 4 as a gelatinizing agent or to produce capsules.

6. The use of claim 5 to produce gel capsules.

7. The use of claim 4 or 5 as an adjuvant for tissue engineering, as a wound gel, as an excipient for drugs, as a medium for paints and lacquers, as a carrier for adhesives or as a biopolymer for degradable plastics.